This intriguing tool gets more interesting the deeper you look into it. What is it? It's a handy device to help you discover new design aspects of almost any complex design situation. According to their Q/A:

The Dashboard maps design space and then lets you choose a path. Specifically you can use it to classify, revise and generate designs.

It's not completely clear what they are getting at until you try the tutorial, so we encourage you to do so. Is it really a tool as pictured above? Yes and no. It's really a conceptual model that you can "run" on paper as well as the 3D printed model above (you can get the 3D model suitable for printing here.)

The inventors of this tool, the Institute Without Boundaries, built the tool to use as a framework to assist the development of sustainable communities in Costa Rica. However, it has proven a suitable tool for analyzing many design situations.

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has been writing Fabbaloo posts since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!

Fabbaloo is a daily online publication focusing on the 3D print and additive manufacturing industries. We provide deeper analysis of developments in current and future technologies as well as corporate matters. If there’s something happening in 3D technologies, especially FDM, SLA, SLS and Stereolithography, we’ll have an opinion about it.